Alfred Molina - An Education,
Chocolat, As You Like It, Frida, Prick Up Your Ears

Tilly Vosburgh – Boy A, Atonement, Vera Drake

Why? Gary
Oldman, Tim Roth, Mike Leigh

Seen: May 17, 2014

It’s not often we see a film having no idea
whatsoever what it’s about but on the merits of the three gentlemen listed
above I’ll watch anything.And I’m
looking forward to this.

It’s grim, though. As Mike Leigh usually is. At
first it’s fun to see the almost unrecognizable Oldman and Roth – Oldman as a
twitchy borderline psychopath racist skinhead and Roth as a poor innocent
gormless picked on adenoidal bespectacled prat just faintly prescient of their
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern roles.

But it soon turns very sad.Unemployment, meaninglessness, endless
familial nastiness. Even Auntie Barbara (Bradley), in spite of her cheerful
“fuck’em” attitude and relentless get-up-and-go-ness ends up huddled in a
corner crying over an empty bottle of booze.

Only older brother Mark (Daniels) seems to observe
everyone else’s pain and though he scoffs and insults with the others, he
stands up for his brother in the end.And then says he’s going to leave.But will he?

England in the early ‘80’s, not a happy picture. But
an outstanding film. With just enough dark humour to keep the despair at
bay.Televised llama races in Egypt?